3 positives for England from the Test series against India
England suffered an innings defeat in the fourth and final Test against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to concede the series 3-1.
Although Joe Root's side started off proceedings with a dominant 227-run win in the 1st Test at Chennai, the hosts roared back to win the remaining three matches in convincing fashion. England were knocked out of the World Test Championship after losing the 3rd Test, and couldn't spoil India's party in the 4th Test as well.
The tour was disappointing on the whole for the visitors, and Root cut a disconsolate figure in the post-series press conference. But like any other international series, England can take heart from a few positives. Here are 3 of them.
#3 Jack Leach's stellar performances
Coming into this series, various experts and former cricketers questioned whether England had the spin resources to make the most of the conditions in Chennai and Ahmedabad.
After all, Jack Leach and Dom Bess didn't have to work for their wickets in the preceding series against Sri Lanka, with poor shot selection handing them a number of scalps on a platter. And while Bess had a nightmare time in India, Leach solidified his standing as England's first-choice spinner in Test cricket.
Leach was his team's highest wicket-taker and third overall with 18 victims, and he was accurate throughout the series. Deadly with his arm ball and consistently building pressure from one end, the left-arm spinner enjoyed success against excellent players of spin like Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara.
What was even more impressive was his comeback after being smashed to all corners of the ground by Rishabh Pant in the 1st Test. By the looks of it, Leach is here to stay in Test cricket.
#2 Jimmy Anderson's agelessness
Another England bowler who was a class above the rest was Jimmy Anderson. The experienced pacer was on the back of a superb Sri Lanka tour, and continued from where he left off.
Anderson picked up only 8 wickets in the 3 Tests he played, but the numbers don't indicate how accurate and threatening he was. He gave away only 127 runs over the course of the series, amounting to an astounding bowling average of 15.88.
The only quick to take more than 600 wickets in Test cricket justified his credentials as one of the greatest bowlers of all time, in conditions that weren't in his favour. The bona fide leader of the pace attack, Anderson is showing no signs of slowing down.
#1 Joe Root's all-round show
Joe Root finished the series as the leading run-scorer with 368 runs at an average of 46, and chipped in with 6 wickets as well. Although these stats were boosted by his double hundred in the 1st Test and 5-wicket haul in the 3rd, the England captain led from the front for the most part.
Root expressed dissatisfaction with his own performances in the post-series press conference, saying that he'd have liked to kick on from his Chennai epic in the series opener. But the fact that no player from the Indian team scored more runs than him is justification enough of his class.
A notable feature of Root's showing in the series was his bowling. Quick through the air, accurate and clever, the 30-year-old showed enough to convince fans that he could morph into a reliable all-rounder for England.